


Norwegian Logging

by Chibidragon



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: 1800s America Au, F/F, F/M, M/M, More pairings and characters to be added, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-29
Updated: 2017-05-08
Packaged: 2018-04-06 17:28:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4230582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chibidragon/pseuds/Chibidragon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set in the 1800′s, Lukas is a Norwegian immigrant living in the U.S, hoping to make a living for himself and his little brother. (y/n) is the girl he falls in love. The town’s kids decide to play matchmaker and Mattias has a little too much fun with the plotting. Let the shenanigans ensue.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Setting the Stage

**Author's Note:**

> Fanfic I'm writing for a friend. I'm also posting chapters on tumblr. Look for the tag "Aph Norwegian Logging"

It was a cold, wet morning. The skies were full of gray clouds, heavy with rain. Not a beam of sunlight peeked through to warm the earth. A young man of assumingly Norwegian descent stepped out of his modest cabin, ready to set out for the days work. Behind him a small boy (presumably his brother) followed holding a small bag with a notebook and pencil. Before going off to the forest to join the other workers, the Norwegian headed towards the small town near the forest, the small child following dutifully behind. Once the duo arrived, they, or rather the Norwegian, were immediately called over by a loud Dane with wild blond hair and excited blue eyes. The Norwegian tsked, annoyed by the Dane’s yelling. Deciding it would be better to at least greet the Dane, he walked towards him, giving a nod towards the Dane’s companion, a tall Swede. 

“Berwald.”, the Norwegian greeted, ignoring the small pout that appeared on the Dane’s face.  
Berwald nodded back, before giving a glare to the Dane next to him. At least, the Norwegian assumed he was glaring. The Swede seemed to be constantly glaring at everyone as if his face was stuck in a permanent glare, but those who took the time to know him knew better. The tall Swede was in fact a very gentle giant as seen when he knelt down to greet the young child next to the Norwegian, gently ruffling the boy’s hair and smiling before once again standing and glaring.

“God morgen Lukas!”, the Dane exclaimed happily, grinning as he greeted the Norwegian before him, apparently not noticing the boy beside him.

“God morgen.”, Lukas muttered in reply, feeling it was too early to deal with the obnoxious Dane.

“How come you’re here so early, Norge? Shouldn’t you be heading down with the others?”, asked the Dane, tilting his head to the side, a small frown appearing on his face.

“That doesn’t concern you Mathias.”, Lukas coldly replied, reaching down for his brother’s hand. Mathias smiled noticing the small boy, and knelt down just like the Swede. He held out his hand for a shake.

“And god morgen to you little Emil!”, Mathias laughed. Emil simply hid behind Lukas’ leg shyly whispering, “Halló”. Mathias laughed again causing the boy to further hide his face in his older brother’s leg.

“Stop that, you’re scaring him”, scowled Lukas, even furthered annoyed by the Dane. He lifted Emil up into his arms, where Emil immediately tucked his head under Lukas’ chin. Ignoring the Dane’s small “aww”, Lukas then turned around and headed towards a general store a few feet away. Outside the store a young woman of about 18 was sweeping the store front. Emil peeked out from Lukas’ neck and at the sight of the young woman, began calling out her name.

“Miss (y/n)! Miss (y/n)!”, exclaimed Emil, scrambling to free himself from his older brother. Lukas put him down and watched as the youngster ran to hug the young storekeeper. (y/n) turned around a smile on her face and put the broom aside as she knelt down to hug Emil.

“Hello there Emil. How are you today?”, she greeted as she straightened up, picking up Emil in the process.

“Halló! I’m fine today Miss (y/n) .”, the young Icelandic male replied happily.

“That’s good. Oh. Good morning Lukas.”, (y/n) said as she turned towards Lukas, a slight blush beginning to form on her cheeks.

“God morgen Miss (y/n).” replied Lukas, coming to stand in front of them, a small smile on his face. (y/n) felt her cheeks grow warmer and cursed herself for blushing easily. Lukas on the other hand found her increasingly red cheeks adorable and cursed himself for not being able to talk to her as easily as he wished.

“So this is where you were going Lukas! Is (y/n) ya sweetheart or something?”, a voice behind them exclaimed. (y/n)’s cheeks exploded in a burst of red and quickly looked away to avoid looking into Lukas’ eyes. Meanwhile Lukas himself turned, the smile slipping off his face as he turned to face a grinning Mathias. 

“No, she is not.”, Lukas said in a monotone. “She is simply watching Emil while I go off to work.”(y/n) winced and went inside the store, carrying Emil with her.

“Bye big brother!”, Emil called out. Lukas looked behind him and nodded.Turning to face the Dane once again, Lukas glared at Mathias, upset that his moment with (y/n) was ruined.

“What are you doing here idiot,”, he snapped.

“Waiting for you. It’s almost time for work, and we still have to walk over to the river.” Even though he was upset at not saying goodbye to (y/n), Lukas simply sighed and began to follow Mathias and Berwald to work.

“Lukas! Wait!”

The trio all turned to see (y/n) rushing towards them. She stopped right in front of them and held out a bundle wrapped in a rather large handkerchief. The trio’s mouths watered at the smells coming from the bundle.

“You forgot your dinner. Here, I packed some leftover mutton and vegetables, along with some cornbread and cranberry sauce. I also managed to save and pack a slice of apple pie for dessert.”, (y/n) cheerfully said, a large smile on her face.

“Thank you, (y/n). I’m much obliged.”, Lukas said as he grabbed the bundle.

“You’re welcome! Well I better get going. I left Tino in charge, but the twins are there so I’m not really sure if everything is still in order. Goodbye Lukas. Goodbye Mathias and Berwald.”, said (y/n) as she turned around and left.

The trio stood there for one more second watching her disappear into the store, before once again heading towards the forest. They walked in silence until Mathias decided to break it, much to both Lukas’ and Berwald’s annoyance.

“So are you sure you’re not courting (y/n)? Because if you’re not, I might just have to if it means eating like that everyday.”, Mathias asked.  
Lukas didn’t bother replying but simply glared at him until Mathias gulped and looked away.  
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………...............................................................................................


	2. Wow He's Handsome...Wait Did I Say That Out Loud?

While Lukas was off with the others in the woods, (y/n) was thinking about what to make for dinner. Lunch wouldn’t be a problem since there were still leftovers…then again Lukas had dropped off a quail the previous night and (y/n) decided that would be the best choice for dinner. How to cook it was another problem. In the end she decided to roast it with herbs and spices. As a side, she cooked some pasta her neighbor Feliciana had given her the other day, with a meat sauce she had learned to make from Feliciana’s older brother Lovino. Thinking about the Italian siblings, she decided to invite them and their grandfather over for dinner, knowing none of them would ever willingly miss a chance to eat pasta.

“Alfred?”, she called over her shoulder.

“Yeah?”, the young blond replied, looking up from his notebook.

“Are you almost done? I want you to go over next door and ask if the Vargas’ would like to come over for dinner.”, (y/n) turned around fully after moving the pan with the quail into the oven. She wiped her hands on her apron and came to stand behind Emil, who was sitting down at the table. The twins Alfred and Mattie, along with Emil were sitting together working on mini lessons that (y/n) came up to help them with their learning. Due to the fact that there was no official school in the small town, (y/n) often held informal classes in the late morning and afternoon for the logging town children. Often mothers or older sisters would come over and help teach the children what they knew but it was mostly (y/n).

“Sure! I’ll go right now”, the young blond exclaimed. He pushed himself away from the table and got down from his chair. The twelve year old ran out the door, (y/n) and the rest of the kids cringed at the sound of the door slamming. Sighing, the young woman turned around and turned her attention to the counter where she had places most of the leftovers. After giving everything a look over, she nodded in satisfaction and began to work. Moving across the kitchen to grab a pot, she began to boil water in order to make tea. The twins’ older brother Arthur was coming over to pick up the twins and always welcomed a fresh cup of tea. Next, she pulled out a few pastries from the oven that his bitter enemy/lover Francis enjoyed. The Frenchman was also coming have their daily chat and enjoyed her pastries as much as Arthur enjoyed his tea.

About ten minutes later, (y/n) found herself back in the shop. Lunch had been prepared, the children had finished their lessons and the Vargas’ had accepted the dinner invitation. Alfred, Matthew and Emil were busy playing in front of the shop under the watchful eye of Tino, (y/n)’s assistant.

Tino had been the ward of (y/n)’s father before he died and they had grown up as close as siblings. After the death of her parents, (y/n) took over the family store and hired Tino as a shop assistant. The cheery Finnish male had been her main source of comfort those first few months and (y/n) was grateful to him for having her back. It was also around that time that Lukas had appeared. (y/n) blushed as she remembered their first meeting.

It had been only three months after the death of her parents that (y/n) had first come across the blank faced male. At first his cold attitude towards everything had scared her and she avoided him at every turn. However, one day that had all changed.

The day had started innocently enough. She opened up the store as usual, helped a few customers, then retreated inside to start on lunch and help the twins with their reading. When she came back outside, Lukas was there comparing two different cans of vegtables. A young boy (y/n) had never seen before had one hand holding on firmly to Lukas’ pant leg while the other held a bag to the boy’s chest.

“May I help you?”, (y/n) asked nervously, moving behind the counter that separated her and the two males. She was still a tad afraid of the Norwegian despite Tino’s assurances that he was actually nice. Apparently Tino was friends with Berwald, who worked with Lukas, and the Swede trusted Lukas. While Tino thought everyone was nice, Berwald was less trusting and his judgement of the cold male made (y/n) feel a little better.

‘Still’, she thought, ‘Those blank eyes of his would make anyone a little nervous.’

The young boy was startled and quickly moved behind Lukas. Meanwhile, Lukas quickly looked up and at her. His eyes widen a fraction then quickly narrowed before returning to their original state. (y/n) could’ve sworn she saw a flash of emotion in his eyes but wasn’t sure what. Lukas cleared his throat and opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by the little boy.

“Brother, ég vil ekki gulrætur¹.”, the little one said looking at the can in Lukas’ left hand with mild distaste on his face. His dislike of the vegetable won over his shyness; he’d rather brave the pretty stranger in front of them then risk having the dreaded carrots for dinner.

“Emil, jeg fortalte deg til å snakke engelsk. Jeg vet det’s hard, men du må prøve².”, Lukas scolded.

(y/n) softly blushed for she had never heard Lukas speak before. The male had a surprisingly deep voice considering his leaner figure. Hearing him speak in his native tongue made (y/n) want to hear more. Oh boy.

“Foruten, gulrøtter er bra for deg³”, Lukas added, placing both cans on the counter.

“En þú ert að tala á norsku!⁴”, Emil retorted. He pouted, causing (y/n) to nearly squeal from the cuteness. Lukas looked down at Emil glaring. After a second he closed his eyes and sighed. He opened them and ruffled Emil’s hair while saying,

“English.”

Emil’s pout returned and Lukas smiled at him for a bit before turning his attention to (y/n). The smile slipped off his face and once again (y/n) saw that flash of emotion.

“These two please, and a pound of jerky.”

“A-alright. I’ll just…”, turning around to grab and wrap the jerky, (y/n) cursed herself for stuttering and moved quickly as to not keep the two males waiting. 

“Here you go. Anything else?”, (y/n) asked, mentally patting herself on the back for not stuttering.

“No, that is all.”

“Alright,that comes to $1.03”

“Here.”

“Thank you.”

For a brief moment (y/n) swore she felt something as her hand briefly touched his. However if Lukas felt anything, he did not show it. After gathering up his purchases, Lukas gave (y/n) a brief nod, before grabbing Emil’s hand and walking away.

“Wow. I never noticed how handsome he is,” (y/n) sighed.

“Wait…Did I just say that out loud?”

“Big brother! The pretty lady called you handsome!”

Lukas didn't respond but simply walked a little faster, leaving behind a very red (y/n).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not a native speaker so correct me if I'm wrong please.  
> Translations:
> 
> ¹ Brother, I don’t want carrots.
> 
> ² Emil, I told you to speak English. I know it’s hard, but you have to try.
> 
> ³ Besides, carrots are good for you.
> 
> ⁴ But you’re speaking Norwegian!


	3. Everyone's OTP

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone ships it.

“Ma chère¹!”

A cheery French voice, the sound of bells and a door slam snapped (y/n) out of her thoughts. She looked up to see Francis enter the store. His arms were spread out in preparation for a hug and a huge smile on his face. Behind him an irritated Arthur scowled at him through the glass before coming in. Apparently, the Frenchman hadn’t bothered keeping the door open for his companion.

“My word, Francis. Perhaps next time you would be able to refrain FROM SLAMMING THE DOOR IN MY FACE YOU STUPID FROG”, exclaimed Arthur. The Brit rubbed his reddening nose and glared at the sheepish Frenchman. (y/n) simply giggled, already used to the pair’s antics.

“Je suis désolé mon amour!² Here let me kiss it better.”, and with that, Francis swooped in to peck Arthur on the nose before he could protest. Arthur grumbled under his breath when Francis pulled away but (y/n) knew Francis had been forgiven.

“You know, the storage room is empty right now if you two wish for privacy.” (y/n) said with a wink. She laughed at the horrified yet intrigued look on Arthur's face and the eager and mischievous one on Francis’.

“Why, I would never-”, Arthur began.  
“My love, you would and we have.” Francis depanned. Arthur simply sputtered in

With one eyebrow raised, (y/n) walked around the counter and the pair to lock up the store for lunch.

“Alfred, Mattie and Tino! Lunch is ready!”,she called out door.

After putting up a sign, she turned to face them.

“Come on you two, let’s go have lunch and tea before you actually take me up on my offer.”  
Ignoring Arthur's protests and Francis’ winks, she led them to her kitchen where the twins and Tino were already sitting at the table.

“I hope all of you already washed up”

“Yes Miss (y/n)” , the twins chorused.

“Alright then, sit down and we’ll have lunch.”

After a rather exciting lunch full of outbursts, flirtations and a rather spot on impression of a certain Norwegian logger, (y/n) found herself sitting behind the counter chatting with Arthur and Francis.

“Oh come on Francis, I doubt that Lukas likes me in that way.”, blushed (y/n).

The trio was discussing Lukas’ possible infatuation with (y/n)... well, (y/n) was discussing, Francis was teasing, and Arthur was torn between supporting (y/n) and keeping Francis from making the conversion take a more inappropriate turn.

"Cherie³, there is no doubt in my mind that that man, regardless of how annoyingly cold he may act, is completely and utterly in love with you.”, Francis stated firmly.

“You may not have noticed, but whenever he looks at you, his gaze softens and he gets this little smile that he never shows unless you or Emil are in the room.”

“I don’t know...What do you think Arthur?”, (y/n) asked the Brit.

“Well, like in most things, I do believe that the frog is exaggerating.”, Arthur said ignoring the indignant noise Francis made.  
“But I do agree that his manner softens when you’re around.”, he finished.

“If you two say so…”

“(y/n) (l/n). You take of his younger brother, you fix him meals, you mend his clothes, he provides you with food every chance he gets, both of you let the other sleep over when the weather is questionable; mon Dieu! You two might as well be married!”, exclaimed Francis.

“But…”

“Enough! I will hear no more of this!”

And with a dramatic flip of his hair Francis stood up and took his tea and plate inside. (y/n) and Arthur shared a look and they both smiled. Arthur stood up as well and took his cup and plate inside as well. When both men returned (Arthur with a rather heavy blush and Francis with a rather smug grin), they said their farewells and left. (y/n) was once again left alone.

As the afternoon carried on, several customers came and left, a few people stopped by to chat and gossip. Every once in awhile, she would quickly go and check on the children and Tino then return to help the customers. Soon it was time for (y/n) to close the shop and prepare for dinner. After locking up, (y/n) went inside to prepare dinner. As planned, she cooked the quail and pasta and once that was done, went outside to wait with the others for their guests. Soon enough the loud voices of the Italian family were heard and (y/n) herded the children back inside.

“(Y/N)! (Y/N)!”, cried out the younger of the Italian siblings, Feliciano. The back of his head was smacked by Romano in an attempt to quiet his loud brother. Romulus, their grandfather, merely shook his head and laughed.

“Hello everyone- umph!”, (y/n) greeted before being tackled into a hug by Feliciano. (y/n) laughed and patted his head, carefully avoiding his sensitive curl.

“Feliciano you idiot, at least let her greet you properly before running her over”, Romano huffed. (y/n) could see the beginnings of a smile and smiled herself knowing Romano was not as harsh as he seemed.

“But, fratello⁴!”, Feliciano whined, letting (y/n) go, his curl wilting.  
“I really wanted to give (y/n) a hug!”

“Careful or that logging bastard might get angry at you for hugging his dolcezza⁵.”, Romano warned. (y/n) blushed heavily at the implication.

“Not you too!”, (y/n) groaned.  
“Everyone has been telling me that Lukas likes me but I don’t see it.”

“But (y/n), Lukas must be in love with you! He has too! And then you two are going to get married and have babies and grow old together and, and…OW!”, Feliciano rambled before once again being hit by his brother. He turned to glare at his brother while nursing his head.

“Now now, both of you calm down. Or (y/n) won’t invite us to dinner anymore”, Romulus scolded his grandsons, though he was clearly amused.  
“Besides, Lukas still has to ask me for (y/n)’s hand”, Romulus said winking at her before heading inside.

(y/n) huffed and rolled her eyes before leading the brothers inside, the blush still on her face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SORRY. I MEANT TO HAVE THIS OUT MONTHS AGO BUT LIFE HAPPENED. (also again I'm not a native speaker so correct me if I'm wrong please.  
> ¹My dear  
> ² I am sorry my love  
> ³My god  
> ⁴ brother  
> ⁵ sweetheart


	4. Matchmaker Mathias

     

    While (y/n) minded the store and took care of the children, Lukas’ day was going through a different route. A logger’s work was difficult and dangerous. One wrong move and a man might be trapped beneath a tree or drowned in the river as the logs carried down to the mill by the rushing waters. But the pay was well and most of his workmates were tolerable at the very least, so Lukas persevered. He might not have Berwald’s sheer strength, or Mathias’ boundless energy and cheer (heaven forbid), but he had an eye for the state of the trees and could tell which ones were the best for felling and which ones should be left alone. 

After leaving the town in the morning, the trio began work, not stopping until lunch. Matthias and Berwald looked on jealously as Lukas began unwrapping his lunch. Once again, the trio was assaulted with the delicious smell of (y/n)’s cooking. Lukas smirked and began eating. Berwald took one more mournful glance at the meal and dug into his own lunch. Mathias opened his mouth to beg for food, but a glare from Lukas made him reconsider. 

“So you and (y/n) huh?” Mathias grinned.

“You two have been getting rather close lately haven’t you? What with her taking care of Emil and making you lunches, not to mention I know where that quail you caught went…”

“What are you implying?” Lukas asked, glaring.

    “Well if one didn’t know better, they’d say she liked you,” Mathias said waggling his eyebrows. 

    “She’s nice to everyone,” dismissed Lukas. Mathias shook his head in disbelief. He couldn’t understand how someone as smart as Lukas couldn’t see how much (y/n) liked him. 

    “But you do like her at least, right?” Mathias insisted. Lukas simply glared before continuing to eat. 

   The trio finished their meal in silence. Lukas occasionally would glance up and stare at  Mathias, not trusting the Dane’s unusual silence. Not that he had anything to worry about….sort of. 

   You see Mathias, despite what anyone else thought, considered Lukas one of his closest friends. The Nordic trio (quintet if you counted Tino and Emil) was one of the tightest knit groups in town that wasn’t related by blood (except for Emil and Lukas). All of the members cared about each other and looked after each others’ backs. Now Mathias, while perhaps not the sharpest axe in the shed, was surprisingly perceptive. He knew (y/n) and Lukas had feelings for each other. He also knew that Lukas was to stubborn to admit it to anyone and (y/n) was too shy to admit anything.  So he had a plan. Mathias was going to recruit the whole town if necessary to get the two together. Operation Lovebirds was a go. 

   The plan was simple. Mathias, with as much help as possible, would get (y/n) and Lukas in as many possible romantic situations as possible. Whether it be stuck in cave while a storm raged, locked in a closet together, forced to go on a journey together or even having Lukas fight off a villain then having (y/n) swept in his arms…..okay maybe Mathias had been reading too many of Francis’ novels but the idea was there! All they had to do was make Lukas and (y/n) realize how in love they were and make them get married. The how wasn't that important.

   For his plan to work, Mathias needed help. He knew Berwald would be glad to help. Under that static exterior was a giant sap. Plus, if nothing else it gave the Swede, a chance to interact with Tino. The two had started to become closer lately; besides Lukas and (y/n), they were the most oblivious couple in town. 

   ‘Maybe after we get Lukas and (y/n) together...no focus Mathias. One couple at a time,’ Mathias mused. Content to let Berwald and Tino figure things out themselves for now, Mathias wondered who else to include in his scheme. Francis and Arthur would be happy to help but Mathias questioned how helpful they could actually be. Francis may have been from the city of love, and Mathias still had no clue how he had been able to even seduce Arthur, but combined the two were more often likely to cause trouble than to help. Perhaps they could use their friendship with (y/n) to lead her to meeting spots with Lukas. 

   The Vargas family was practically a given. Regardless of Feliciano’s clumsiness and Romano’s hostility to everything, they both were extremely close to (y/n) and often teased (y/n) about her crush on Lukas. They took care to not do so in front of said man, but everyone else was fair game. Honestly, how were Lukas and (y/n) this oblivious? The Italian family, especially Grandpa Roma, were terrible gossipers. In fact the whole community liked to gossip. It baffled Mathias (like many things did), that Lukas and (y/n) were still not together. Mathias started to wonder if eight people were going to be enough to convince the oblivious duo. Finishing his last bite, he decided to think more on the subject later.

   Once the lunch break was over, the trio returned to work. Lukas occasionally glanced at Mathias trying to figure what the Dane was plotting. Whatever it was, it could not possibly even well for him. 

   ‘I might have to threaten it out of him later,’ Lukas thought, his eyes narrowing. A few feet away, Mattias shivered and wondered why he felt as though his life were in danger. Berwald ignored all of this, content to plan out what he was going to get Tino for his birthday. So long as Lukas and Mathias did not kill each other, things could not be that bad. 

   Meanwhile back in town, (y/n) sneezed and wondered if she was getting sick. Francis and Arthur randomly felt offended and wondered why. And the Vargas family felt as though they had been both complimented and insulted. Emil blamed Mathias. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I am in fact alive. And I am in fact continuing this story. Sorry about the tardiness but I'm now a freshman in college and this past year has not been kind to my mental health. I'm also from the U.S. so this current election just made things worse. So to avoid breaking down, I decided to keep myself busy and hopefully cheer up some people with some old fashioned fluffy fan fiction. I'll try to update more regularly but I don't currently have a personal computer and so I'm relying on my school's computer lab and my phone. But winter break starts in a few weeks so I'll have to rely on my phone. So fingers crossed. Hopefully I'll put out another chapter before break begins just in case, but I have like four essays due in the next two weeks plus I have a Latin final to prepare for. Please comment if you like the story so far, I see the comments even if I don't respond to them, (the mobile site confuses me or I get to shy to respond). Anyway, until next time guys since this is getting kind of long. See ya!


	5. Happy Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (y/n) blushes, Lukas panics and Tino gets passive agressive.

Despite constant glares he shot towards him, Lukas was unable to figure out what Mathias was hiding. Slightly uneasy but refusing to admit that he was afraid of the overgrown child that was Mathias, he let it go for now. With the sky beginning to darken, the trio headed back into town and towards home. Reaching the street where (y/n)’s store was located, Lukas split from the group saying his farewells to Berwald and ignoring Mathias’ winks and catcalls. Walking around towards the back, he knocked on the door.   
‘Maybe I should have brought her flowers,’ he thought as he waited to be let in. Slightly panicking now that he realized he could have brought (y/n) flowers, he quickly looked around but to his dismay there were only weeds nearby. This further convinced him that (y/n) needed flowers.   
He had just resolved to bring her flowers (‘Maybe lilies? Or Purple Heather? But where could I get seeds nevermind if they would actually grow in this climate. Oh Gud! What if she’s allergic?) when the door finally opened revealing the rather unamused face of Lovino.

 

“What do you want?”, Lovino sneered, blocking Lukas from entering. Annoyed and refusing to let the shorter Italian (“By two centimeters at most!”) see his inner turmoil, Lukas simply glared at Lovino. Lovino glared back. 

 

“Lovino? Who’s at the door? If it’s Lukas, let him in please!”, called (y/n) interrupting the stare off between the two. Torn between asserting his dominance over Lukas and not wanting to be a complete ass in front of (y/n), Lovino gave in quickly and allowed him in with a huff. A little smug, Lukas smirked at him before walking inside, making sure to wipe his boots on the rug just inside the kitchen. There he was tempted by the smell of still warm food as (y/n) was in the middle of putting away leftovers and heating up dinner for Lukas.   
Despite his protests that he could simply eat when he got home, (y/n) always made sure to set aside a portion for Lukas whenever he came to pick up Emil. Eager to eat, he hung up his coat and quickly washed his hands in a bowl of water before following (y/n) out to the small dining room. 

 

“Big Brother!”, Emil exclaimed before climbing out of his chair to greet his brother with a hug. Amused, Lukas simply crouched down and held his arms open for Emil to jump into them. Standing up with his little one securely in his arms, he nodded to the rest of the guests. 

 

“Lukas! It’s so nice to see you!”, Feliciano greeted before turning back towards a heated debate with Alfred over the fate of one of the characters from a book (y/n) had been reading the kids. Romulus, Tino and the twins gave their own hellos although Arthur had to be poked into remembering his manners. Emil patted Lukas’ arm letting him know Emil wanted to be put down and hurried back to his own seat, eager to contribute his own opinions in the debate between Feliciano and Arthur. 

Lukas mourned the days when Emil would happily climb into his lap whenever he sat down. Nowadays Emil only let himself be carried and even then he was starting to tire of that too. Briefly upset that he had been left in favor of discussing fictional characters, he moved on when he noticed that the only empty seat was next to (y/n). Oh well, kids grow up time to move on. Claiming his spot next to (y/n), Lukas dug into his meal but not before quietly thanking (y/n). Once he finished, Lukas was content to lean back and close his eyes for a while. 

 

Noticing this (y/n) became a little worried know Lukas did not usually fall asleep so quickly. Especially if others were around. 

 

“Are you alright Lukas? Did something happen?”, she asked with a concerned look on her face. 

 

Lukas smiled and replied, “ I am fine, just tired. Thank you for your concern though,”. 

 

“Well that’s a relief,” (y/n) said relieved. 

 

“Anyone would be tired after dealing with Mathias all day,” Romano sneered. He dodged the half hearted slap from his grandfather unconcerned about whether he might be considered rude. 

 

“He’s not that bad,” Tino defended, “Mathias just has a lot of energy. But he means well!”.

 

Lukas neither confirmed nor denied anything. What others thought of Mathias was not his problem. Although if Lovino accidently tripped on his way to the kitchen then that was not Lukas’ problem either. It’s not like he felt that only Berwald and him had any right to poke fun at Mathias. Heaven forbid anyone think he actually cared about the idiot. 

Speaking of the idiot Lukas’ eyes narrowed as he remembered Mathias’ suspicious behavior from earlier. Anything Mathias was up to, regardless of good intentions, was bound to cause a headache for him. He was interrupted from his train of thought by Romulus declaring loudly that it was time for him and his grandsons to go home with Tino trailing after them to see them out. Thanking (y/n) and dragging Lovino by the ear, he led his small family towards the kitchen to leave. Noticing that Emil had started yawning. Lukas decided it was time for them to leave as well. Gathering his dishes, he placed them in the large basin (y/n) kept for that purpose. He entered back into the dining room with his coat along with Emil’s to find (y/n) holding Emil. He was amused to see Emil sleepily protesting that he was not in fact tired. Setting his own coat down, Lukas handed (y/n) Emil’s coat while grabbing him so that (y/n) could put the coat on him. 

“You know, you two are always welcome to stay the night,” (y/n) reminded Lukas as she finished buttoning the coat. 

 

“It is appreciated but we could not impose on you like that. Besides,” Lukas teased, “what would the neighbors say?”.

 

(y/n) blushed but before she could reply, Tino walked back in with a smile and said, “Well no one would have to say anything if you two got together. Honestly at this point you might as well get married,”.

 

Let it be said that Tino could be a straightforward asshole when he wanted to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi not dead. Got like the next six chapter outlined so fingers crossed for quick updates.Enjoy~


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